


The Curse of Privilege

by Zandra_Court



Series: Agent Hotpants Series [2]
Category: Starsky & Hutch
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-25
Updated: 2012-03-25
Packaged: 2017-11-02 11:59:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/368752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zandra_Court/pseuds/Zandra_Court
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hutch is passed over for promotion for a reason he never expected.  A sequel to <i>Lonely Boy</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	The Curse of Privilege

“That report is the biggest snow job you’ve ever tried to pull!” Dobey threw the file on his desk.

“Hey, that report is the Gods-Honest truth Cap’n. Every word. Sea Scout’s honor.” Starsky held hand over his heart and saluted with the other. Hutch rolled his eyes. 

“You’ve never been a Sea Scout Starsky!” bellowed Dobey.

Hutch looked at his partner and mouthed, “That was me.”

“Oh, yeah,” Starsky spoke under his breath. “Look, Cap’n, we can’t help it if the guy was clutzy enough to trip over that grocery cart and take a header into the deli case.”

“The manager of the store says your partner threw him into that case and now he wants the department to pay for a new one! Not to mention the new public defender who’s now going over every arrest you two make lookin’ for unnecessary force!”

“Cap’n, that report is what happened. Starsky and I were there. That’s what we wrote and what we’ll testify to. Besides, the instant the jury gets a look at the pictures of what he did to his daughter, it won’t matter how he got arrested.”

Captain Dobey sat back in his chair and ran his hands over his face and into his hair. “You know, thanks to you two, Internal Affairs now has a budget line item for Rolaids!”

Starsky smiled wide. “We make their job interesting!”

Dobey looked hard at him, “Get out!”

They stood up to leave, when Dobey said, “Hutchinson. I still need to talk to you.” Both men started to sit back down. “Did I say ‘Starsky’?” 

The two partners looked at one another. Hutch shrugged his shoulders slightly and with a great sigh, Starsk stood up and walked out.

“Starsky gets a bit overzealous about child abuse, but this time, it was me who pushed it. If IA wants to issue condemnations, I’ll take the hit.”

“Shut up Hutchinson. I don’t want to know anything other than what is in your report. But that’s not why I held you back.”

Confused, Hutch sat back and brought one ankle up to rest on his knee. “What is it?”

“The department is going to hold a Lieutenant’s exam next month. I want you to take it.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Starsky was laying on the hood of his car in the precinct parking lot. He’d unbuttoned his shirt, letting it fall open wide. He loved the feel of the sun on his skin. Maybe it was because he’d spent the first 12 years of his life in Brooklyn, but he could never get enough of the sun. The biggest reason he’d bought his house was because it had a large private patio where he could lay out, bare-assed naked and just feel the warm rays penetrate every inch of himself.

“Are you wearing sunscreen?” The shadow cast by his partner made him frown.

“You’re in my light.” Starsk leaned up slightly and lightly played with the dark curls of hair beneath his belly button, knowing the move would draw Hutch’s eye.

“I know you think you’re going to distract me from my question, but it won’t work. Dr. Mason told you that you shouldn’t be in the sun without it.”

Starsky sat up and started to re-button his shirt. “It was just a mole, Blintz. I got ‘em all over. Don’t know why y’all are makin’ such a big deal.”

“It turned out to be benign, Starsk, but what if it hadn’t?”

“You worry too much.” He desperately wanted to change the subject. “What did the Cap’n want?”

It was Hutch’s turn to be evasive. “Let’s stop at Longs on the way home and we’ll buy you some. We could even get a tube for you to keep in the car.”

Starsky slid off the hood of the Torino and walked around to the driver’s door and climbed in. Once Hutch was sitting next to him, he put the key in but didn’t turn it.

“What are you waiting for?” Hutch asked as he rolled the window down.

“Unlike you, I don’t ask twice.” Starsky turned towards him and waited.

Gulping a bit, Hutch looked out the front window. “He wants me to take the Lieutenant’s exam.”

“That’s it?” Starsky started the car. “I thought it was something about the Houston case or something bad.”

“How can you be so casual about this?”

“Casual about what? You’ve been a Detective Sergeant for over 10 years. I’m more surprised they haven’t asked you before.”

“Starsky! Don’t you get what this means?”

“Of course I know what it means. But takin’ the exam just puts you in line for promotion. Not like I’m gonna walk in there tomorrow and they hand me a new partner.”

“You could take it with me.” Hutch said hopefully.

“No, I couldn’t. I barely passed the Sergeant exam. And the only reason I got pulled up at all was because they needed younger detectives. ‘sides, I have no desire to be an LT. The paperwork would make me crazy.”

“You’re so much smarter than you give yourself credit for, Babe. You could pass the exam, especially now. You’d be a great squad supervisor.”

Starsky reached across and grabbed the soft, strong hand next to him, drawing it into his lap. “I like how you see me better than I see myself. But really, Hutch, I like where I am. We get to be squad leads and have all kinds of control over our ops and investigations. I’m happy. But someone’s got to be the next generation of Dobeys. It’s the cross you’ll just have to bear.”

Hutch smiled and leaned towards his partner, rubbing the hand Starsky held lightly against the man’s crotch. “I did feel a bit excited when he said he wanted me to take it. But then all I could think about was not being your partner anymore and so I told Dobey no.”

Starsky glanced sideways quickly. “You can tell him tomorrow you changed your mind.”

“I haven’t.”

“Take the exam Hutch. You and I will be partners forever. We don’t need the department to make that so. I don’t want to be the reason you don’t go as far as you can. You wouldn’t want to feel that way about me.”

“No, I wouldn’t.” Hutch agreed. He brought their hands up to his lips for a kiss before returning them to the warmth between Starsky’s legs.

“Just don’t think about what your first assignment will be.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Every new LT in my 13 years on the force have all started in Internal Affairs.”

“Oh, God” Hutch groaned as Starsky smiled huge at him.

“On the other hand, maybe having you in IA would mean they weren’t crawling all over my ass for every damn arrest I make.”

“I crawl up your ass plenty.” Hutch said with dry sarcasm.

“I said ‘over’, not ‘up’, but either way, I don’t see you getting promoted meaning we’ll see each other any less at work. In fact, I might have to start roughing up old ladies just so you can interrogate me about procedure.” His eyebrows wiggled a bit and Hutch laughed, marveling at how good Starsky could make him feel about everything.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Over the next month, Starsky helped his partner study. Repeatedly, Hutch begged him to take the exam with him, but he kept refusing. It wasn’t a matter of book smarts anymore. Starsky just knew it wasn’t what he wanted to do. He loved being a street cop, talking to people, helping the folks that society had tossed aside or wanted to ignore. He felt protective of people like Sweet Alice or Huggy or Jackson Walters. People who tried to live their lives with as much integrity as their lot in life allowed. It was good work and he was proud of it.

One thing he learned from helping Hutch prepare for the exam was how fucking intelligent his partner was. It wasn’t only his ability to memorize laws and procedures or use logic or even his understanding of human resources. What Starsky had never realized before was how creatively his partner could work around problems. Part of the exam was an oral board, where issues of morality or ethics would be tossed at him. When he’d pose some of the sample questions to his partner, Hutch would tap into some aspect of the hidden motives of the parties in the scenario and would come up with an answer that floored him.

On the morning of the exam, Starsky was more nervous than Hutch, at least it seemed that way. It had been overly sentimental of him, but he’d bought Hutch a new shirt and tie for the day, along with a “lucky” tie pin. It was a tiny Chinese coin, like the ones Starsky wore around his neck. Hutch had smiled so broad and hugged him tightly after he’d given them to him. Then they’d had some awesome sex on the patio in the sunshine.

Smiling at the memory, Hutch came out of the bedroom, dressed in the clothes that had just sparked Starsky’s fond reminiscing. 

“Why’re you grinning like the Cheshire Cat, Starsk?” he asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

Starsky wrapped his arms around his lover’s waist and said, “Just thinking about you, Blintz.”

Hutch kissed him lightly on the nose. “I got a call from my landlord yesterday. My lease is up.”

“Wow. Really?” Had it been two years already? Hutch had just renewed his lease before the case that had changed them forever. All thanks to Agent Hotpants, though Starsky would never, ever, say so.

“Yeah. I thought maybe we should talk about it before I, y’know, do anything.”

There didn’t seem to be much to talk about in Starsky’s opinion. Hutch stayed at his house most of the time, unless a case made it more practical to sleep at Venice Place. 

“Sure, if you think we need to.” Starsky wanted to talk about it now, but didn’t want to distract Hutch before the exam.

“Good.” Hutch smiled at him. “Better go. I should be done by 2 or 3:00”

“Huggy’s makin’ us dinner to celebrate. He’s even setting up a Chef’s Table in the kitchen of The Pits.”

Hutch made a face. “I can’t imagine anywhere I’d less want to eat than Huggy’s kitchen.”

“Hey! He’s all excited about it. I think he’s even been watching Julia Child episodes. Be a sport huh?”

Hutch shook his head in resignation. Sometimes he wondered what his life would be like if his friends _didn’t_ love him so much. Looking at his watch, he put down his coffee cup. “Gotta go, Gordo.” He meant to just kiss Starsky lightly, but his partner ran his hand behind his head, deepening the kiss, roving his mouth with his tongue.

Hutch moaned a little as his body started to respond to Starsky’s oral assault. “Much as I wanna get lost in your mouth right now, I need to be able to concentrate. I won’t be able to if you give me blue balls before I even get there.”

Starsky laughed and pulled away. “Sorry, Blondie. You just clean-up so nice. Good luck.”

“Thanks. I’ll need it.” He grabbed his keys off the small hooks at the door where he and Starsk kept them.

Starsky held the door open. “No you won’t. You’re ready.”

“Thanks to you.” He gave Starsky another quick kiss and walked down the stairs.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two weeks later, Hutch heard the whooping from the hallway as he sat at his desk, hunting and pecking. Some day he was going to learn how to type for real. Suddenly Starsky burst into the squad room, knocking over Detective Martin in the process.

“Sorry Marti. Hutch! Hutch! You gotta come look!”

“Help the man up, Starsk. What’s gotten into you?”

“It’s posted. The exam results are posted!”

Hutch had known that was going to happen today, but hadn’t told Starsk, pretty much for this reason. If he’d done well, his partner would spend the day bragging to everyone and if he hadn’t, he’d spend the day talking about the test being fixed or scored wrong. Either way, Starsky would be far too vocal about something he’d really rather keep quiet.

“OK. I’ll go look when we head out for lunch.”

“No! You gotta come now. Really. You need to see this!”

Hutch sighed and got up because he knew there was no way he’d get his partner off this topic if he didn’t.

There was a small crowd around the list, which had 32 names on it. The department only offered the Lieutenant’s exam every three years, so even new Sergeants would take it if they had high aspirations.

Hutch’s eye went to the bottom name on the list. He knew he wouldn’t score last, but wanted to be sure. He scanned up the list until he hit the top and finally saw his name. He’d scored first! And not just by a little. The score for the next name down was almost 25 points below his own. He looked at Starsky disbelievingly.

“Told you it was worth seein’!”

Hutch threw his arms around his partner and almost kissed him before he caught himself and broke the embrace. “We did it buddy.”

“No, you did it Hutch! Minnie said that she didn’t know of anyone in the history of the department who’s ever scored as high as you.” Starsky grinned wide and Hutch didn’t begrudge his enthusiasm one little bit.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

News of Hutch’s score went like wildfire around the department and everyone was speculating about when he’d get promoted officially and where he’d end up. When the Deputy Chief called to set up a meeting three weeks later, he wondered if his assignment might be with high command. Wouldn’t be his first choice, but it was better than Internal Affairs.

“Sit down Sergeant Hutchinson.” Deputy Chief Reasonor motioned to the chair on the other side of his desk. “Would you like something to drink?”

“No, uh, no thank-you sir.”

“OK. Well, I’m going to get straight to the point. Command has decided to pass on your promotion for the foreseeable future.”

Hutch felt sucker-punched. Confusion reigned on his face. “What? Why? Is there hiring freeze or something?”

“No. The opening in Internal Affairs will be filled, just not by you.”

Surprise was shifting to anger now. “Why the hell not? I scored higher than anyone else on the exam.”

“Well, Sergeant, as you know, the exam is just one part of how we determine fitness for promotion. There is no doubt of your intelligence. The same cannot be said of your character.”

 _What the fuck? His character?_ He struggled to get his emotions under control. After taking a few deep breaths he looked straight into the Chief’s eyes and said, “Respectfully, sir, what do you find lacking in my character?” He practically spit the last word.

The Deputy Chief looked hard at him. “Sergeant, you have made quite a name for yourself in recent years. Your work on the Gunther case was so high-profile that the department was willing to turn a blind eye, but that doesn’t mean we are going to hold you up as role model by giving you a promotion, no matter how good a test-taker you are.”

Still confused, Hutch said, “You haven’t answered my question, sir.”

“C’mon Hutchinson! You’re too smart to play dumb. I’m referring to your relationship with Sergeant Starsky.” The disgust Reasonor used when he said the word “relationship” made the pit of Huch’s stomach fall and a rush of endorphins hit him like freight train. He stood up quickly, desperately wanting to hit something.

Pacing around the back of the chair, he put as much distance between himself and the deputy chief as he could. What could he say? Even if he could deny it, doing so would be betraying Starsky and everything they were to each other. Finally, he found his voice.

“Who are you going to promote instead?”

“Sergeant Ray Andrews.”

Hutch turned on Reasonor. “That bigot? He only made Sergeant last year!”

“His score was second to yours. He has big ambitions.”

“He’s a racist! He was lucky to be allowed to stay on the force. He killed a man!”

“So have you Sergeant Hutchinson.”

Hutch found himself sinking back into the chair. He couldn’t believe it. Bad enough to be passed over, but to be passed over by that smarmy, hotheaded, racist asshole was too much to take in.

Finally, all he could do was stare at Reasonor in disgust.

“Don’t look at me Sergeant. Your evils are no different that Andrews’. In fact, yours are worse because his don’t open him up to blackmail like yours do. Nor does he disgust most of the men in this department like what you and your partner are doing. You two chose to become faggots. I don’t know why you expected the department not to react to that.”

Hutch felt barely in control of himself. The Deputy Chief must have sensed that because he said, “You may leave now Sergeant Hutchinson.”

With nothing else left, he did just that.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Starsky sat on the back of his chair, pen dangling from his mouth as he looked at the word search in today’s paper. When Hutch walked into the squad room, he instantly knew something was wrong.

“Hey buddy. They put you in IA huh? It’s not the end of the world. I mean, I know we both hoped they’d break the pattern for a rock star like yourself.”

Hutch interrupted his prattle with “We need to leave now Starsk.”

His partner stood up and said, “Sure, let me just tell Dobey…”

“No, we have to walk out this room right now.” Hutch spun on his heel and went out the door, not looking back to see if Starsky was following him.

Starsky grabbed his keys off the desk, dropping his pen and paper and ran after his partner.

“Hutch! Wait!” Hutch didn’t stop to take the elevator, choosing to push through the door to the stairs and ran down them. Starsky took them two at a time, racing to keep up.

“Hutch, what’s wrong?” he asked breathlessly when he finally could stand beside to his partner at the Torino’s passenger door.

Barely able to form the words, Hutch croaked, “Please. Just get me home.”

“OK, buddy, ok.” Starsky unlocked the door and held it open. Hutch climbed in, staring forward, motionless.

The whole drive home was filled with a heavy silence. Starsky was starting to get really freaked out, so he drove home as fast as he could. He wondered if they should go to Venice Place tonight, but something told him that his place would be better.

Barely pulling the Torino into the driveway, Hutch was out of the car and half-way up the steps before Starsky could turn the car off and remove the keys. He entered the front door to see the bathroom door slam.

“Hutch, babe, please don’t shut me out. What the hell happened?” He was leaning against the door, holding the handle, hoping the lock would just give way. Then he heard Hutch give a raging yell and the sound of breaking glass. Stepping back, he kicked in the door.

Hutch was slumped in the corner, holding his right hand, as blood dripped down his fingers. The bathroom mirror was shattered in pieces around the sink.

Falling down next to his partner, he grabbed a towel, pulled a piece of glass still protruding from one knuckle, and wrapped it around Hutch’s hand. 

Hutch looked up at him and burst into tears. “I’m sorry. I broke the…I’m sorry, Starsk.”

Starsky just pulled him close. “Shhhh, it’s OK. Shhhh. I got you. I got you.” Hutch just sobbed harder.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Huggy? It’s Starsky. I need you to go pick up Sammie and bring her over here. Yeah, it’s Hutch. I don’t really know but he put his fist through the bathroom mirror. No, no, I’m fine. Thanks Hug.” He hung up the phone and sat down next to Hutch on the couch.

Reaching across, he picked up the ice bag and towel and looked at his partner’s hand. “Looks like the bleeding’s mostly stopped. If Sammie can’t butterfly these, though, you’ll have to go to the ER.” Hutch nodded.

“You gonna tell me what happened? Did the mirror tell you I was fairest in the land?”

Hutch smiled at Starsky’s attempt at humor. He loved that about him.

“I’m not getting promoted.”

Starsky stared at him. “Why not?”

“It was determined that I am unfit to be a Lieutenant.”

“That’s crazy! Did they give you a reason?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Well?”

Tears were burning in Hutch’s eyes again. There was no way to say this without causing Starsky pain and given how much of that he was feeling, both physically and emotionally, he didn’t think he could bear to cause his beloved pain too.

Realization hit Starsky like a truck as he watched the emotions telegraph on Hutch’s face.

“Me. I’m the reason. Or rather, _we_ are the reason.”

Hutch nodded and looked down, tears falling silently.

Starsky wrapped one arm behind Hutch’s head and the other around his middle, just holding him in silence.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the weeks went on, the pair of detectives kept a very low profile. They didn't go to the precinct at all, choosing to either patrol or work up cases on the street. They’d write up their reports at Huggy’s and would check in with Dobey by telephone. Huggy had even put a typewriter in one of the back rooms for them. They’d offered to pay him for using the space as a virtual office but Hug had refused, saying something about doing his part for justice.

One afternoon, as they sat at a table, talking through one of the murder cases they had, Huggy called at Starsky from the bar. “Yo, Starsk! Your Captain wants you,” and he held out the phone.

“What’s up Cap’n?” he answered, turning to look back at Hutch.

“You both need to come in. There’s going to be a briefing for a new undercover op and I want you two on it.”

“That’s fine, but it’ll just be me.”

“Hutchinson can’t hide forever.”

“It ain’t been forever yet. Talkin’ to me is as good as if he’s there.”

“OK, see you at 1800”

“He wants you to come in?” Hutch asked when Starsk returned to the table.

“He wants both of us to come in.”

“Same as.”

“No, it’s really not. Look, Hutch, sooner or later, you’re gonna have to crawl out from under the rock.”

Hutch looked hard at him. “I have no desire to walk into a place with that much hatred floating around. To see the looks of disgust from every officer we walk past!”

“You’ve really led a blessed life you know that?”

“What?” Hutch said challengingly

“You’ve led a blessed life. How wonderful for you that you’ve made it to the age of 35 without ever having to feel the stares of hatred! See, when you get to feel them at the age of six while walking with your Rabbi father through a grocery store in a different part of town, you learn something about life. You think Dobey got through the police academy in 1952 on love and good wishes? Even Detective Meredith or Doc Mason could tell you what it feels like to walk into a room and have every pair of eyes there wish you were somewhere else at best and wishing you death at worst. Welcome to the real world, Blondie!”

Huggy walked over to the table and put a hand on Starsky’s shoulder. “Hey man, go easy. No matter what age you learn, hate’s not somethin' that goes down smooth. In fact, I think its worse when you’re older.” 

Hutch just looked from his partner to Huggy, like blinds had been lifted from his eyes and he felt a different kind of shame from what had been following him around for so many weeks.

He stood up. “Let’s go for walk, Starsk. The sunshine will do us both good.”

“Nah, you go ahead. It might be good for us to take a breather right now. I’ll meet you back home after the briefing, OK?"

“OK.” He leaned down and gave Starsky a quick kiss, just so show him that he’d heard him, even if he didn’t know what to do with it right now.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once outside, the urge to run took over and when he stopped, he found himself in front of Venice Place. He’d moved out several weeks ago and he was wondering if things wouldn’t have been easier if he’d kept the place. As he leaned against the side of the building, panting from his run, a man walked out of the door that led up to the apartments. As he watched, recognition made him shout, “Hey! G-man!”

Special Agent Carlson turned around and immediately flashed a brilliant smile, complete with dimples, and walked towards him, arms outstretched. Hutch practically leaped into the man’s arms, holding him in a long embrace.

“There’s a new tenant up there,” Carlson said as he pulled back a bit so he could look at Hutch more fully. “Wow, Ken-doll, you are a vision I’ve missed looking at.” He brushed a strand of blond hair from Hutch’s face.

“Why are you here? I mean not that I’m not thrilled to see you, but you didn’t tell us you were coming.”

“I’m between academy classes right now and thought some California sunshine would do me some good.”

“It definitely has healing powers, or at least Starsk would say so.”

“Where is Strong & Silent anyway?”

Hutch looked at his watch. “He should be headed into the precinct right now. Your car nearby? We could head home and he’ll meet us there.”

“Home huh? That why there’s new folks livin’ in your place.”

Hutch felt some nervousness at admitting it, but then thought about what Starsky had said to him. “Yeah, it seemed silly to keep paying for a place I was never really at, I guess.”

“Big step, but then again, I guess it’s been two years since I saw you, so I shouldn’t be surprised. How long will he be?”

“Don’t know. I can call him when we get back to the house.”

“Your chariot awaits.” Carlson swept his arms towards his rented dark blue sport car.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hutch poured more wine into the tall goblets. He’d called Starsky, who’d told them not to wait on him for dinner. There had been a strain in Starsk's voice after he’d told him about Agent Carlson’s surprise visit, but wasn’t going to deal with that until later. For right now, he just wanted to bask in the joy of G-man’s presence.

As he set the bottle back on the table, Carlson took hold of his right hand. The scars were still bright pink.

“What’ve you been doing to yourself Ken-doll? Trying to arrest tigers?”

“Not exactly.” He tried to pull his hand back, but the agent held it firm, lightly massaging the scars.

“I punched the bathroom mirror.”

“Did it say Starsky was prettier than you?”

Hutch laughed. “That’s what Starsk asked.” He’d forgotten how similar they were.

“So, why?” He kept lightly rubbing and Hutch relaxed his hand, letting the touches move around from his scars to his palm and along his fingers. The man’s touch was exquisite and was starting to tingle through his whole body.

“Uh, I was angry.” Hutch was having trouble forming words.

“I’d imagine you’d have to be to do that to yourself. At whom?”

“The department. The deputy chief. An asshole named Andrews. But mostly, myself.”

Agent Carlson stayed silent, continuing to gently rub Hutch’s hand.

“I had taken the Lieutenant's exam. I scored first, but was denied promotion…” he now pulled his hand back and Carlson let him. “I was denied because of my relationship with Starsky.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I guess we weren’t as undercover with it as we thought we were.”

Carlson laughed. “It’s not hard to see it with you two. In fact, I imagine that the only people who don’t see it are those who don’t want to. Was this before or after you moved in here?”

“About the same time, actually.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I haven’t set foot in the precinct since. We’ve been working our cases out of The Pits and phoning in to Dobey. That’s why Starsky’s at the briefing.”

Agent Carlson furrowed his brow. “Why haven’t you been back?”

“I was embarrassed. Ashamed. The guy they promoted is one of the worst kind of cops I’ve ever known. The idea that he’s somehow better than me was just more than I could take.”

Carlson leaned forward, putting his arms on the table. “Why do you think he’s better than you?”

“What? I don’t! He’s a racist with a happy trigger finger.”

“You said you were ashamed. Why would you say that if on some level you don’t think that this other guy deserved your promotion? You did nothing other than be true to yourself and to Starsky. Where is the shame in that?”

“Starsky says I should consider myself lucky to have made it to my age without having experienced prejudice.”

“It’s the curse of privilege, my love. But there’s another term for you right now. You’re a fag-hating fag.”

Hutch looked like he’d just been slapped. “How can you say that to me? I don’t hate fa…gay men. I love Starsky and you and I’m not sure about Huggy, but sometimes I wonder…”

“But you hate yourself, Ken. Being gay is OK for other people but not you. The only reason for you to give them the power to chase you out of that precinct is if you agree with them.”

“I don’t!”

“Do you love Starsky?”

“More than anything in the world.”

“Do you want to quit the force?”

Hutch paused. He’d thought about doing that so many times in last few weeks.

“Let me ask it a different way; Is the Bay City Police Department a better force with you on it?”

Hutch blushed a little. He was a good cop, but it felt like tremendous hubris to say so.

“I don’t know this Andrews guy, but he sounds like the kind of officer every one of us hates to have wearing a badge. Are the people of this city better off with him or with officers like you and Starsky?”

“When you say it like that, no, I don’t want to quit.”

“Then prove it. Sometimes, a man has to stand up. The world is an ugly place. If it weren’t, I’d still be here, shaking down bad guys. On the other hand, I’m doing a tremendous amount of good where I am. I’m turning out agents who are smart and well-trained. A few of them have asked about me, privately. Some who are gay themselves. Some who’ve said I was the first gay man they’d ever met and they were surprised at how much they like and respect me. If I put even a handful of agents into the field who are less homophobic than they were when they came in, I’ve done great work with my life.”

Hutch blinked back tears, nodding. G-man clasped his shoulder.

“What do you guys do for fun around here? You got any games or something?”

“We have Monopoly. And cards.”

Agent Carlson smirked, “Ohhh, we’re gonna play strip poker tonight! But let’s wait for Starsky to get home.” He stood up to clear the dishes. Hutch stood too, wrapping him up in a hug. 

“It’s OK, Ken-doll. We all lose our way sometimes.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What is it you wanted to talk to me about Sergeant?” Chief Dunbar asked as he ushered Hutch into his office.

“Lieutenant Ripley in Vice has announced he will be retiring at the end of the year.”

“So.”

“I respectfully ask to be appointed to his position when he does.” Hutch had rehearsed this with Starsky several times. He smiled a little at remembering Starsky’s effort to impersonate the Chief.

“Hutchinson, surely you must understand the risk to this department if we were to put you in such a high position. I’m sorry.”

“My relationship with Sergeant Starsky is only a threat if we were trying to keep it a secret. We aren’t. Everyone in this precinct and probably this department know that Starsk and I live together and love each other. There is no risk of blackmail for something you’re not ashamed to reveal.”

“That isn’t the only issue. The other officers will have a hard time trusting and respecting you. How can you lead a squad of men with that hanging over you?”

“Again, with all due respect, that is my problem. I know that my skills as police officer are top notch. I’m smart and I’m experienced. I have no doubt in my own abilities, so why, sir, should you?”

“Even if that is true, this department doesn’t need the kind of heat this will cause.”

“I see. Well, the ACLU says differently. I’ve explained to them my experience here and they feel it would be an excellent case to bring to court. So I can just do my job and deal with bigots quietly on my own. Or I can do it publically. Which kind of heat would the department prefer…Sir?” Hutch held the Chief’s gaze confidently.

Finally, the Chief said, “I will take all of this under advisement Sergeant. You may go now.”

Hutch nodded. “Thank-you for seeing me, Sir.”

As he walked out of the office, he found Starsky waiting for him. Without a word, he gave him a sideways hug and together they walked to the stairs.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hurry up, Blondie or you’re gonna miss the ball dropping!” Starsky wore a black cardboard hat that read “Happy 1983” on it.

“Just a minute!” Hutch was trying to put more canapés on a tray, with the assistance of Agent Carlson, who’d come to spend the holidays with them.

“If you end up kissing Agent Hotpants at midnight I’m taking Meredith to bed!” Starsky bellowed a bit drunkenly

“Hey Cowboy, leave me out of this!” Detective Meredith slapped his arm. “I don’t want my new boss to think I’m some kind of floozy that sleeps around.”

Hutch walked into the room carrying the tray and put it on the table. As he turned around, G-man grabbed him and started kissing him, slipping his tongue between Hutch’s lips commandingly.

“Hey!” Starsky yelled.

Agent Carlson broke the kiss suddenly and wheeled on Starsky. “New rules. Every time you call me Agent Hotpants, I kiss him. Got it?” With a smooth tug, he pulled Hutch into Starsky’s arms.

Hutch looked a bit tipsy, both from alcohol and the kiss G-man had placed on him. He laughed at the look Starsky was giving him and wrapped one arm around his partner’s neck. 

10-9-8-7-6

“I dare you to call him Agent Hotpants again.” Hutch whispered into Starsky’s ears.

5-4-3-2

Starsky closed his eyes and drew Hutch into a long, deep kiss as the sound of cheers rang out from the television and firecrackers went off outside.

“No fucking way…Lieutenant.”

**Author's Note:**

> For more on the phenomena that Hutch goes through, check out _Leslie Jordan: My Trip Down the Pink Carpet_. He talks about it far better than I ever could. You'll laugh your ass off and cry your eyes out and who doesn't love both?


End file.
